Australia opener David Warner and West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews have been adjudged the ICC Players of the Month in men’s and women’s respectively for the month of November for their superb performances.
Warner’s efforts in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 helped him edge past Pakistan opener Abid Ali and New Zealand pacer Tim Southee to win the men’s award while Hayley’s all-round show in ODIs helped her grab the women’s award ahead of left-arm spinners Anam Amin of Pakistan and Nahida Akter of Bangladesh.
“David was back to his scintillating best during the T20 World Cup and his aggression at the top of the order was outstanding. His 209 runs at a strike rate of 151 in four innings simply tells the story. There was no recovering from the early onslaught by Warner and his stroke play was pleasing to the eye,” said Jury member and former Sri Lanka cricketer Russel Arnold.
Warner won the award on his maiden nomination in Player of the Month awards following his Player of the Tournament show at the Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. The tournament was a memorable one for Warner, who smashed 53 in the final against New Zealand after making 49 in the semifinal against Pakistan.
The 35-year-old was also named Player of the Match in Australia’s last Super 12 match against the West Indies for a scintillating 89 not out off 56 balls. Warner aggregated 209 runs at an average of 69.66 and a strike rate of 151.44 in four T20Is during the period of nomination.
Hayley, on the other hand, won the award on her second nomination for Player of the month. She was earlier nominated in July along with her captain Stafanie Taylor, who was the winner then. The 23-year-old scored 141 runs and grabbed nine wickets at an average of 13.11 during the period. She starred in a series win over Pakistan, scoring 57 runs and taking three for 31 in the first match before a four for 26 runs in the second.
“Hayley was the star, performing with both bat and ball. Her all-round performance was one of the reasons the West Indies won against Pakistan, and she deserves to be the women’s Player of the Month,” said Jury member and former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan.
The selection process for the ICC Player of the Month awards, which were instituted in January this year, combines votes cast by former players, prominent journalists, broadcasters and global cricket fans. The winners are announced on the second Monday of every month.
